BFI Flare Festival

The BFI Flare Festival, formally known as the London Lesbian and Gay Film Festival, has been running for nearly 30 years. It shows a mixture of high-profile LGBT features and films that have been popping up on the film festival circuit for a few months, amid smaller gems. The festival began as a season of gay and lesbian films at the National Film Theatre in 1986 and 1987 under the title “Gay’s Own Pictures”, curated by Peter Packer of the Tyneside Cinema, and was renamed the London Lesbian and Gay Film Festival in 1988. It’s now organised and run by the British Film Institute, with all BFI Flare films shown at the BFI Southbank.

Brighton Pride

The city of Brighton’s Pride festival raises awareness of LGBTI issues by promoting and staging both the city-wide LGBT Pride Parade, a day long festival in Preston Park and now the city-wide arts and film festival. With over 160,000 participants and spectators the Brighton Pride Community Parade is a sensational celebration of every aspect of the LGBT community and supporters. One of the few events that brings together community, local business and the local council, the event at St James’s Park also saw over 40,000 attendees last year. Brighton Pride CIC is a specially created community interest company producing events that are a celebration of Lesbian, Gay, Bi and Trans and Intersex lives. Brighton Pride aims to raise vital funds for local community groups and charities within the city and celebrate the very best of the city’s queer creative community.

Gay Star Travel Expo

A one-stop shop for LGBTI travellers, the Gay Star Travel Expo showcases the hottest destinations, tourist boards and top travel brands for gay travel, ready to help you plan your next trip. With holiday ideas to inspire and excite, the daytime expo metamorphoses into a holiday themed club night, making the Gay Star Travel Expo a not-to-be-missed must for LGBTs everywhere. Now in its second year, the Gay Star Travel Expo is taking place over the weekend of 17/18th January 2015 at London’s Heaven nightclub. Guests at the Gay Star Travel Expo include the tourist boards of Gibraltar and Vienna; the event will also feature political debates with the likes of Lord Cashman and Peter Tatchell taking part.

Out With The Family

Out With The Family is a series of events aimed at LGBT families and straight allies to aid the networking of gay parents and children of same-sex parents. The event was founded after working closely with the LGBT parenting community and noticing that there was simply no place for LGBT parents and their straight allies to come together with their families. The aim is to create a safe and inclusive space where children of LGBT parents can play and engage with others in similar circumstances and not be the odd one out – as so many often are at school and in social situations. Parents also have the opportunity to discuss issues in a safe and supportive environment.

LGBT History Month

The aim of LGBT History month is to promote equality and diversity to the wider public. This is done by increasing the visibility of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people, their history, lives and their experiences in the curriculum and culture of educational and other institutions, and the wider community. LGBT History Month was initiated in the UK by Sue Sanders, Elly Barnes and Schools Out and first took place in February 2005. The event came in the wake of the abolition of Section 28 in 2003 and is intended to raise awareness of, and combat prejudice against, an otherwise substantially invisible minority. The annual event also raises awareness and advancing education on matters affecting the LGBT community and works to make educational and other institutions safe spaces for all LGBT communities promoting the welfare of LGBT people, by ensuring that the education system recognises and enables LGBT people to achieve their full potential.

Mint

MINT began life as a social networking event for professional bisexual and gay women, hosting nights at exclusive venues and private members clubs like the infamous Soho and Shoreditch houses. Since then, it’s become more than a place to make new business contacts, it’s become a focal point of the London lesbian event calendar. Hosting some of London’s most in-demand DJs and live performances, MINT is notoriously known as the party to be seen at. Creator and founder, Nikki Chubb, has been creating events for gay and bisexual women since 2005, when she started the well-known lesbian and gay bar and club ‘Rush.

Homotopia

Homotopia is an international LGBT festival held annually in Liverpool and across various parts of Europe. The festival takes place every November at numerous venues across Liverpool and in other European cities, and features a mixture of theatre, dance, film, photography, art, cabaret and debate.
Homotopia is a not-for-profit limited company with its headquarters at Liverpool’s Unity Theatre and is the only lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans combined arts organisation in the north of England. Homotopia is an international festival held annually in Liverpool and across various parts of Europe. Homotopia was launched as a pilot project on 1 November 2004, in response to Liverpool’s successful bid to become European Capital of Culture. The festival was commissioned by the Liverpool Culture Company’s Creative Communities project, and started life as a ten-day programme of film, theatre, photography, art, comedy, storytelling and heritage designed to bring together an assortment of artists and was heavily supported by Liverpool City Council.

National Student Pride

National Student Pride was originally conceived at Oxford Brookes University, as a response to its Christian Union’s position on homosexuality. It has gone from strength-to-strength in the nine years since, attracting students from all over the country. The move to London in 2014 was a natural progression, made necessary by the incredible development of the event. In 2013 Student Pride was attended by over a thousand students, and with such a central location this year, the organisers expect the event to be even bigger, better and more accessible to students than ever before. Students from 123 Universities and Colleges came to National Student Pride 2014 in London, held at Channel 4 studios, University of Westminster, G-A-Y Late & G-A-Y Heaven. 2015 sees National Student Pride returning to London for its 10th Anniversary event.